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Individual Awards

APPA Fellow

Designation as an APPA Fellow recognizes individuals for their significant contributions to the field of Educational Facilities Management and who are considered by their peers in the industry as a person of excellence. While most APPA awards recognize past achievements, the APPA Fellow designation brings with it both recognition for specific accomplishments to date, including advancement of the body of knowledge of educational facilities management through research, discovery, and innovation, and expectations for continued involvement in APPA leadership through service and research, coaching and mentoring.

An APPA Fellow is approved by the APPA Board of Directors from candidates recommended by a Special Team comprised of past APPA Fellows. To earn the Fellow designation, a candidate must apply or be nominated to this Special Fellows Team and demonstrate significant contributions to the profession in each of the four areas below. [NOTE:  Each area noted below is bulleted with individual illustrative examples.] Although leadership, service, and lifelong development are critical elements of the Fellow criteria, particular emphasis will be placed on innovation and advancement of the body of knowledge or body of work for the educational facilities management industry.

Selection Guidelines
  1. Leadership: Progressive advancement in the field of educational facilities management. 
    • Demonstrated career advancement in positions of leadership. A recommendation letter(s) that substantively supports an individual’s leadership growth over a period of years is required for this particular element of the criteria.
    • Achievement of the position of an institution’s senior facilities officer or similar institutional leadership position.
    • Position as an academic faculty member of an accredited educational institution.
  2. Innovation: Advancement of the body of knowledge of educational facilities management practice.
    • Research into techniques and strategies such as those found within the Center for Facilities Research (CFaR).
    • Significant innovations which advance management practice through field publications and/or applications, presentations, or teaching.
    • Broad industry recognition of important advances in the profession.
    • APPA Body of Knowledge (BOK) chapter author.
    • Contribution to other APPA publications (such as the Operational Guidelines Trilogy) or other related association journals.
  3. Service: Be an employee (including Emeritus) of an active APPA member institution for at least 10 consecutive years and demonstrated active or engaged participation.
    • Regional, chapter, and/or international association activities such as an officer, board member, committee/team member or chair, task force member, meeting host responsibilities, etc.
    • APPA Institute, Leadership Academy, or Supervisor’s Toolkit instructor/facilitator.
    • Body of Knowledge (BOK) section coordinator or editor,
    • Recipient of the APPA Meritorious Service Award, Rex Dillow Award, Pacesetter Award, or other relevant association awards.
    • Presentations at chapter, regional, or international APPA conferences, APPA webinars, or other related associations.
    • Participation in peer evaluations/reviews, such as FMEP and APPA Advisors.
    • Similar service in other associations whose principal purpose is the betterment of educational facilities management at educational institutions (e.g., SCUP, NACUBO, etc.).
    • Other relevant APPA or related association service that may be deemed equal.
  4. Lifelong development: A record of continual lifelong personal and professional development in educational facilities management.
    • Certified Educational Facilities Professional (CEFP).
    • Graduation from the APPA Institute and/or the APPA Leadership Academy.
    • Attendance at regional and international APPA conferences, APPA webinars, and other educational facilities management professional development programs over the span of APPA membership.
    • Other relevant educational facilities management professional development activities that may be deemed equal.
    • Service in other associations whose principal purpose is the betterment of facilities management at educational institutions (e.g., SCUP, NACUBO, etc.).

    The APPA Fellow designation is intended to acknowledge the contributions of current APPA members (including Emeritus members). However, the APPA Board of Directors may also approve “Honorary Fellow” designation to individuals who have made significant contributions to the profession. The Honorary Fellow designation may be granted posthumously to worthy individuals, to individuals who are no longer APPA members, business partners, faculty, or other individuals the Board feels deserve special recognition who may not meet all the designation’s criteria.

Nominations for the 2026 awards cycle will open December 1, 2025.

Meritorious Service Award

Each year, APPA members bestow the Meritorious Service Award upon the individual member or members who have made significant, life-long contributions to the profession of educational facilities management. The Meritorious Service Award is APPA’s highest award for individual service, and is given to no more than three individuals each year.

Eligibility Requirements

The Meritorious Service Award is open to any APPA Individual member in good standing through applying and accepting the award.

To be eligible for the Meritorious Service Award, nominees must meet the following criteria:

  1. Be an employee of an active APPA member institution for ten consecutive years. (NOTE: Institution must be currently in good standing.)
  2. Active participation in meetings and other functions at the international level.
  3. Service at the international APPA level (i.e. Board member, committee/group member, dean/trainer/facilitator within professional development [though not a current APPA board member]);
  4. Service at the regional or chapter level (i.e. board, committee, meeting host); and/or service to an associated professional organization whose primary purpose is the betterment of facilities management operations at colleges and universities.
  5. Past recipients can be nominated after ten years of service following their first Meritorious Service Award.

 

Nominations for the 2026 awards cycle will open December 1, 2025.

Pacesetter Award

The Pacesetter Award premise is to encourage participation in APPA among those who have already made significant contributions to their regions or chapters. Up to seven Pacesetter Awards may be given each year.

Eligibility Requirements

The Pacesetter Award is open to any APPA Individual member in good standing through applying and accepting the award.

To be eligible for the Pacesetter Award, nominees must meet the following criteria:

  1. Active member of APPA for a minimum of three years.
  2. Active member of their respective chapter/region for at least three years.
  3. Active participation/contributions/accomplishments in regional/chapter meetings and/or other functions of APPA. For example:
    – Leadership in the region (i.e. service on a board, hosting a meeting/conference)
    – Leadership in the chapter (i.e. service on a board, hosting a meeting/conference)
    – Leadership on a host committee (i.e. host committee chair position)
    – Leadership in professional development (organized or hosted local/regional/international APPA events, prepared chapter/regional/international APPA educational sessions)
    – Leadership in advancing the organization (assisted with promotion/marketing activities or coordinated membership drives)
    – Authored articles in regional/chapter/national newsletters, the Body of Knowledge (BOK), authored a book, etc.
    – Served as a regional liaison to APPA
    – Participated in code advocacy-related activities or served on the APPA Standards & Codes Council.
    – Liaison to APPA Board, Work Group, or Task Force
    – Other voluntary contributions of time, effort, resources, and leadership abilities to promote and enhance APPA and the educational facilities management profession.
  4. Past recipients cannot be nominated again.

 

Nominations for the 2026 awards cycle will open December 1, 2025.

Rex Dillow Award for Outstanding Article

The Rex Dillow Award is presented to the author or authors of the best article published in Facilities Manager magazine during the previous year. Recipients are selected by a review committee comprising a member representative from each APPA region.

Eligible articles are those written by a full-time employee from any department of an APPA member institution. In addition, articles written by APPA Members Emeritus who are not affiliated with a business partner firm may be eligible for award consideration. If an article has more than one listed author, all authors must be full-time employees of an APPA member institution or a Member Emeritus to be eligible for the award. Eligible institutions must be Institutional or Affiliate members at the time of publication.

Selection Guidelines

APPA administers the Rex Dillow Award with designated reviewer representatives, who assess each of the eligible articles based on the following five categories:

  1. Content: the degree to which the article adds to the body of knowledge of the facilities profession through new information, a new perspective on existing information or techniques, or case studies.
  2. Interest: the degree to which the article addresses current topics or stimulates interest through its methods of expression.
  3. Readability: the degree to which the article conforms to the style and format of the magazine, uses easily understood words and phrases, and provides a logical structure.
  4. Applicability: the appeal and value of the article’s content to a broad range of educational facilities and other institutions.
  5. Ease of editing: reflects the time and effort required by the magazine editor to prepare the submitted article for publication.

Each category is given equal weight in its contribution to the article’s overall rating.

Nominations for the 2026 awards cycle will open December 1, 2025.